You Can't Be Close Enough
by Atakai L
Summary: Unless I'm feeling your heartbeat... Roxas hoped that nonlife as a nobody would be simple, easygoing. But that redhead keeps screwing up his plans. Now the two must deal with the battle of uncertainties, and those who want to break their spirits. Akuroku.
1. Awakening

**Warning-Yaoi. AkuRoku. Other pairings later on.**

**Disclaimers-I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters. If I did...I'd be one happy girl.**

**EDIT: So after like a two year hiatus, I reread this story and decided...I didn't like the later chapters at all. So instead of scrapping it completely, I've decided to COMPLETELY give this an overhaul, and actually start working on it again. I've changed a lot of things, and I hope you like it. :]**

* * *

_"What's...what's happening to me?"  
"Falling...falling...into darkness."_

* * *

Cold air washed over a young man's face, as his lungs sucked in air, like he'd been underwater. Or like...he'd just been born. A new body, awash with new life. His entire body felt strange to him. Foreign. He wiggled his toes, feeling a crawling sensation beneath his skin. Fingers jerked, and he realized he was lying flat on his back on...cement? Where did the cement come from? And everything was dark...so dark. His eyes twitched, and then he scowled at his own stupidity. His eyes were closed. He opened them, and found it was still dark, but he could see things. All around him were dark buildings. A city. A city aglow with neon lights. Bright, humming neons, their flourescent ghosts whispering secrets of the newcomer.

He blinked, sitting himself upright. He shook his head, images blurred in his mind.

_Silver, purple, screaming. Friends, a smile._

_A girl._

_Dark, dark, dark..._

_Suicide?_

Suddenly he heard a voice coming from behind him. He whirled his head around, squinting to see who was there.

"Demyx, you idiot. Hurry up."

"Hold on, Zexy, I thought I heard something!"

"What could you possibly have heard? There's no one out here but heartless, and there's not enough out worth fighting at this moment."

The young boy spotted two figures emerge from around the corner, both clothed in long black coats, their hoods up.

"Look! See? There's a boy here!" the taller, figure called, running towards the boy.

The boy gasped, recoiling a bit, unsure whether or not to trust these cloaked figures. The taller figure stopped, and knelt down in front of him.

"Lookit Zexy, you scared him." the man took down his hood, revealing a young man, only about 17 or 18, with dirty blonde haired styled in a bizzarre way. From the front it looked like a mohawk, spiked upwards and shaved down at the side, but when he turned his head, his hair was longer in the back as a mullet, and around his face, long strips fell down into the man's face. His eyes were a startling aqua, like the color of water. "Poor little kitten..." the boy cooed, reaching out to stroke the boy's head.

He recoiled, feeling a hiss spark up in his throat, but held it back.

"Who is he? Do you think that he is one of us?" the shorter figure, this...'Zexy', questioned the other, Demyx.

Without warning, Demyx reached forward and put his leather gloved hand against the boy's chest. The boy froze, not sure what was happening as this Demyx's eyes narrowed as a warning, or simply concentration, until he pulled away, frowning.

"...Yeah...I think he is. Go tell Superior we've got another one. I'll wait with him." he said, sitting down indian style next to the boy. Zexy nodded, and vanished in a plume of black and purple smoke.

"So what's your name?" Demyx asked with a smile. The boy cringed, biting on his lip.

_Sora._

The word rang through the boy's head, but it didn't register in his brain.

"...I don't know." but as he said this, a word rang brightly through his head.

_Roxas_

"Wait...R...Roxas. My name is Roxas."

Demyx cocked a brow. "Okay, Roxas, where'd you come from?"

_I was at Hollow Bastion, with Kairi!_

"I...don't know. I just woke up here."

Demyx was even more confused, and he was about to ask another question when the boy interrupted.

"What are you?"

Demyx was caught off guard.

"Huh?"

"You said I'm like you. What are you?"

Demyx sighed, scratching his head. Then taking Roxas's hand, and putting it against his chest. "Do you feel anything? A heartbeat?"

Roxas frowned, then shook his head. Then Demyx moved the hand to his own chest, nodding. "I don't have a heartbeat either. Nobodies. Beings without hearts." he stated, echoing the words of the Superior with a hollow tone, a tone of distaste.

Roxas's bright blue eyes widened a bit. "I...don't have a heart?"

Demyx shook his head. "No..you don't. No heart. No emotions. No feelings." And then with that, Zexy returned.

"C'mon, the Superior's willing to see him."

* * *

Portals....are frightening. You step inside, and it's blackness, everywhere. Nothingness. Crushing you from every angle. When you look down, you're not even there. You don't exist. Nothing.

More nothing than you already were.

As soon as panic grips you, that you have no being, and are only a thought, you step out into air.

Everyone is panicked by portals. They prefer not to dwell over it.

* * *

Roxas stepped out of the darkness, looking up to see Demyx was still there.

"Woah...can you teach me how to do that?" Roxas questioned, looking back as the portal vanished.

Demyx chuckled. "You'll learn soon enough."

"So where are we?"

"We're in front of the Superior's room. He'll call you in soon. Now remember this, his name is Xemnas, but refer to him as Superior when talking to him, or Number I. Look strong, and don't be scared." Demyx slapped the younger boy playfully on the back, nudging him forward.

"Do not worry. If little Demyx could make it into the Organization, then I'm sure you can as well." Zexy teased, walking away.

Demyx looked hurt, his lip quivering. "H..hey...that's not nice..."

"Send him in." a slow voice came from the doorway, all three went silent, and Roxas opened the door and stepped in.

".....be ready for anything, Roxas." the one called Demyx whispered quickly.

* * *

The room was entirelly white, walls, floor and ceiling. But everything else was black. The chair in the center of the room, and a desk with a man sitting behind it, were black.

The man was...frightening..in a way. With long silver hair thar was smooth, except for the sides that spiked backwards. His skin was a darker caramel color, hued awkwardly against his hair. His eyes turned to Roxas, a piercing amber. The boy shifted uneasily, trying to avoid the unnatural hued gaze.

"So...your name?" the man spoke slowly, as if registering his words carefully before he spoke.

"Roxas." he stated firmly, not moving from his spot.

"Sit, Roxas." the man gestured to the black chair, and Roxas sat down.

"How old are you, Roxas."

"14"

"Only 14? My, my, I wonder how a Somebody of that age could gain such a strong heart..."

Roxas only blinked in reply, not understanding what he meant by that.

"Roxas...do you remember...your true name?"

"My true name?" Roxas blinked, shifting again. "My true name is..." he stopped. It was there in his mind, but he couldn't place it.

"You don't know your true name?" Roxas only shook his head. "I see..." Xemnas continued, then narrowed his eyes. He rose from his desk, hands flat against the desk.

"You're lying to me..." his voice dropped down to an icy level.

"Wha...what? Why would I lie about something like that? Maybe I have like, amnesia or something." Roxas tried to negotiate his arguement, the tone of the man's voice sending chills down his spine.

"No. All nobodies remember their true name. You lie!"

"Really, I don't know!"

Then suddenly, without warning, there was a flash of red, and in his hands, Xemnas held two sword-like, red sabers in his hands, and he leaped forward towards Roxas, slashing at the boy.

Roxas instinctively jumped backwards, backshuffling to avoid devastating blows from the wildly spinning blades.

"I'm not lying!" Roxas shouted, leaping away to the side, feeling one of the blades slash a tear in his shirt. The red blades whirled around, and in desperation, Roxas wished he had a weapon, any kind of weapon.

And then...his energy began to dwindle. His dodges became slower, and seeing this advantage, Xemnas whirled an Aerial Blade down towards the defenseless boy. Roxas put his arms up to block the blow.

_CHING _

Roxas gasped, opening his eyes to see that the attack was blocked. But not from what he expected. In each of his hands, were a key of some sort. One key was white and blue, with savage spikes on the end. The other was black and purple, with a thicker end. His sapphire eyes widened in shock. Pushing his weight against the keys, he managed to flick the Aerial Blades out of Xemnas's hands, and they clattered to the floor about 8 feet away.

Roxas whirled around on his attacker, the keyblades glowing white with a strange light. He smashed the man to the side, watching him fall to the ground. The black keyblade held at the man's neck steadily, Roxas breathed heavily, eyes narrowed. Then the man spoke.

"Roxas. The Key of Destiny. Number XIII. Weapon: Dual Keyblades. Element: Light." the man stated slowly, not even at a loss of breath. "Welcome to Organization XIII..._Number IX!!" _the man shouted the last bit, and from the door entered the familiar face of Demyx. Roxas looked bewildered. Why did he suddenly attack him like that, then just acted like it never happened? And what were those keys that came? He looked down at them in his hands, clutching the handles.

"Y..Yes, Superior?" Demyx interuptted Roxas's thoughts.

"Show Number XIII here around the castle. Tell him the rules." Number I said slowly, standing up and walking back to the desk.

"Y..yes sir!" Demyx nodded, and grabbed Roxas by the wrist, and dragged him out. Once outside, the older male turned towards him, a smile on his face. "So you made it in? Great job! I knew you would! So..lucky thirteen, eh? Those are some cool weapons you've got there! What's your element?" Demyx bombarded the breathless boy with questions until he put his hands up to stop the man's speaking.

"Hold on a sec'. WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME I HAD TO FIGHT HIM?" the words burst from his mouth in a scream, hands tightening around the keys. Demyx recoiled, looking hurt.

"I...I couldn't. If I did..you would have anticipated it. And then you wouldn't have any desperation. That's what called forth your weapon. Sheer need to protect yourself. But don't worry, after some training, you'll be able to summon them whenever you want!" Demyx shot him a peace sign and a goofy grin. "Like this!" he said, putting his hand up. From his hand burst a sphere of water, that spread down around him. Something glittered into view in his hand, and a large musical instument appeared, blue with white outlines and spikes on the end. He spun it around once, before letting it rest against him, his arm draped over the top.

"Your weapon is...a giant ukelele?" Roxas asked, raising a brow.

"No!" Demyx recoiled, clutching his weapon protectively. "It's a Sitar!"

"Doesn't look very dangerous to me. Lemme' see it." he put down his keyblades and reached out a hand, and after hesitating, Demyx let the younger boy take it. When Demyx released his grip, Roxas suddenly lurched downward, almost dropping the instrument.

"Fuck! This thing is heavy!" Roxas gasped, lifting it up, the sitar towering over him. Demyx looked smug.

"And I'm able to spin that around."

Roxas sneered, shifting it off of his body. "It's stabbing me in the shoulder."

"Imagine getting whacked upside the head with it."

"Okay, okay. I guess it's a good enough weapon." Roxas sighed, giving the sitar back to it's owner. "So...you're water, right?"

Demyx nodded. "Yup! I'm Water! And you are...?" he circled his hands for an answer.

"Light...apparently." he said, looking back at the keyblades he'd put down. "So those are...key...blades? Xemnas called them that. Dual Keyblades..." he said, recalling what the chocolate skinned man had said after the battle.

"Keyblades, eh? Never heard of 'em." Demyx paused, and there was silence for a few moments, until he broke it. "O-kay, so apparently I'm supposed to give you a tour! Well, we'll start with me! I'm Demyx, the Melodious Nocturne. Number IX. Water. And as you know, my weapon is a Sitar! And the guy you just met, was Xemnas. But you should know that too. He's Number I. The Superior. His element..is nothingness. Kinda creepy, huh? But Xemmy's a creepy guy."

"Xemmy?" Roxas repeated, raising a brow.

"Nickname. But don't let him hear you say that!" Demyx joked, beginning to walk down the hall, his sitar vanishing at his side. "C'mon, there's more to see."

Roxas looked down at his keyblades, and suddenly they vanished in a cloud of light. He blinked, then looked up and scurried after his blonde friend.


	2. Perhaps It's Not SO Bad

"Well, we might as well try to go in order, huh?" Demyx said cheerily, walking down the wallway with his younger blonde friend at his side. "C'mon, we'll take the fast way." he stopped walking and grabbed Roxas's hand, and without warning the boy, they vanished into a portal of darkness. When they emerged again, they were in a large room, that looked almost like a shooting range. There were targets of all shapes and sizes, on the wall, ceiling, and some even moved.

"This is the Target Range, where you can practice your aim." Demyx said, before pointing to a man with long black hair in a ponytail, that was graying in some places. He was somewhat short, with a scar running over his face, and an eyepatch over his eye. He was standing on the...ceiling? Yes, he was standing on the ceiling! Roxas blinked, watching as he zapped from one place to another, shooting perfectly at the targets with two purple guns, with deadly looking spikes running along them.

"That's Xigbar. Number II. He's space, and uses his Gun Arrows to shoot you. And trust me...that hurts. Xiggy's a nice enough guy, but be careful...he's been going through his midlife crisis for years now." Demyx chuckled and winked at his friend.

"Soo, who's this Demyx?" a high toned female voice came from behind the two.

Demyx whirled around. "L..L...Larxene!?" he stammered, grabbing Roxas by the wrist and pulling him back away from the female. Her hair was strikingly blonde, with two pieces that lifted up and back. Roxas seemed to sense his friend's fear, and felt a dangerous electricity around the girl. He looked down, and noticed that in between her fingers were yellow knives, held like an extension of her hand.

"Did you drag home a stray puppy again, Demyx?" she continued, circling around Roxas. The boy swallowed, for some reason this female giving off an aura of danger.

"No, Larxene. He's a new member. His name is Roxas." Demyx nodded his head once, as if agreeing with himself.

"A new member, eh? Well..." she ran a finger along Roxas's shoulders, and when it touched the skin of his neck, he realized it wasn't her finger, but one of her blades. "Maybe I wouldn't have thought otherwise...if he was wearing a coat. Demyx...why haven't you gotten him a uniform yet?" she questioned icily.

"I..I was getting there. Just giving him a tour first."

"Well then..." the girl shoved Demyx backwards, before stalking away like a lioness. "Don't let him bother me." she added at last, dissapearing in a portal of darkness.

When she left, Demyx let out a sigh of relief. "That's Larxene. Number XII. Never, _ever _get on her bad side. She's a major sadist, and _loves _bring people down. She will hurt you. Badly. Trust me, little buddy. She's electricity, in case you couldn't tell. And those knives...are sharper than they look." And with that, Roxas nodded. They looked sharp to begin with.

"Next on our tour.." Demyx began, stepping out of a portal into a room filled with various chairs, and various people lounging over the chairs. There was a man with messy brown hair sitting rigidly in a chair, another man with blue hair leaning against a wall, a pink haired man sitting at a table, across from a blonde man. The two were playing cards.

Demyx pointed at the brown haired man first. "That's Lexaeus. He's earth, wields a Tomahawk." The Melodious Nocturne's introductions were beginning to get shorter, as he began to get bored of giving his tour. "He's a quiet guy, loves puzzles, but he'll crush you like a bug." he pointed now at the blue haired man. "Over there, that's Saix. Number VII. Moon powers, weilds a claymore. He's got bi-polar issues, so do _not _get him mad. I'm warning you with every fiber of my being." he shivered, then pointed to the pink haired man. "That's Marluxia. Don't let the flower petals and pink fool you. He's a _bad _man. Also. I'm really positive that he's not gay." then moving on to the blonde man. "That's Luxord. His element is time, and he uses cards."

"Cards?" Roxas finally had to question the blonde's explanations.

"Yeah. He can turn his enemies into cards or dice, and match them in a "game". It's not fun...Oh, and never _ever _play strip poker with him. You'll lose. Badly."

Roxas noted that, then fell silent once more.

* * *

They emerged from another portal, and by now, Roxas was getting used to it. They were now in a hallway, and Roxas could swear he could hear music.

"Axel's probably in his room..." Demyx muttered to himself, walking down the hallway, looking at the front of each door. Each one had a symbol on it, resembling the weapons of each nobody. Roxas was able to recognize the one's that he knew. They stopped at a door with what looked like a disk with spikes on the door was slightly ajar, and Demyx slowly pushed it open, enough for them to look inside. The music was louder now, and they heard someone singing.

Roxas peered inside, and saw that inside the room was a man with flaming red hair, spiked back in a gravity defying act. He was...singing. And rather well, in fact. Singing to a song that was blasting on a stereo in the corner. He was dancing around the room, and with every footfall and motion, a blast of fire burst forth in an elegant dance of flame. It would circle around his feet, crawling up his legs and around his arms, shooting forth and dissapating. Roxas couldn't helped but watch in awe for several long moments as the man moved with such grace and elegance, while at the same time swirling flames around him like a living dragon.

"Axel..?"

The man stopped his dance rather abruptly, the flames flickering into nothing, and no burns being left behind anywhere. He looked up at the door, a smirk coming across his face.

"Hey Demyx and...friend of Demyx." he ran a hand through his hair, walking towards them.

Roxas didn't notice it until now, but he had two tear drop shaped tattoos beneath his eyes, and what looked like a red tattoo along the corners of his eyes, making his piercing emerald eyes look more angled.

"His name is Roxas. He's the new guy, number XIII. We finally got a light. He's got some keyblades. The Key of Destiny. Odd name, compared to the rest of us, huh? But he's a nice guy. Oh, Roxas, this is Ax-"

"The name's Axel." the redhead cut the blonde off mid-sentence. "Got it memorized? I'm number VIII. The Flurry of Dancing Flames...in case you hadn't noticed."

"And he weilds a pa-"

"Pair of chakram." Axel finished for the blonde once again, summoning two spinning chakram in his hands, flames quickly dying away from them. "I can introduce myself, thank you, Demmy."

"Well...okay then. Come on, Roxas, there's still three more people you have to meet!" Demyx chimed happily, grabbing his friend by the wrist.

"Hey now..." Axel interuppted, frowning at the overly-excited blonde. "You're hogging the new kid. That's no fun for me."

"But...Xemmy told me _I _had to show him around."

"He didn't say only _you_ could, did he?"

"N...no."

"Then I can come too. This place is as boring as hell anyways." Axel sighed, letting his chakrams vanish from his hands, but a smug grin of victory still plastered on his face.

* * *

"And down here is Vexen's lab." Demyx said as he walked down the stairs to the laboratory basement.

There was a wave of cold air that washed over Roxas suddenly, and he shivered. "Why is it so cold down here?"

"Vexen's ice." Axel explained with a wave of his hand. "His element causes him to naturally prefer the cold. In fact, if he gets too hot, his immune system goes down and he can't control ice."

"Axel's the same way with the rain. He gets weak and can't control fire." Demyx said with a nod, and in turn recieved a push on the shoulder from the pyro.

"Hey now, no need to point out my flaws. I could tell him about the time you were sent to Agrabah." he said with a smirk, and Demyx shuddered in remembrance. "'Lil Demmy here was sent on a mission with me to Agrabah. He got so dehydrated in that desert, he got sick too. Could hardly walk."

"Most of us have issues with our opposites. Larxene can't get wet. She'll short circuit." the Melodious Nocturne giggled a bit at the memory. "During a new moon, Saix is as sensitive can be. He's like a woman. All weepy and over emotional."

"And down here we'll get you your first jacket." Axel added, as they came to the end of the flight of stairs.

Everything was white. Everything. White tables, white walls, white ceilings. And quite honestly, the sight hurt Roxas's eyes. The only color was three black cloaked figures, clashing harshly against the white. One man had long blonde hair, and he was fussing over a test tube on a desk. While another was peering over the blonde man's shoulder, his own hair black and braided. And the third stood in the far corner, intently reading a book. His hair was either blue, purple, or gray. Roxas couldn't seem to decide. And it fell over his right eye like a curtain. The Key of Destiny vaguely wondered how he was able to read with only one eye.

"That's IV Vexen." Demyx started, pointing to the blonde. "And over there is Xaldin." he pointed to the man with the braids. "That guy's got male PMS, don't bother talking to him."

"And Mister Gloomy Pants over there is Zexion." Axel finished, pointing to the man with the book. "He's really smart, but don't let _him_ hear that. He doesn't need an ego boosting." Roxas nodded, realizing that the previous 'Zexy' he'd met and turned out to be this man.

"And that's everyone!" Demyx cheered with a smile.

"You got it all memorized, Roxie?"

"Y..yeah. I think so. And...Roxie?" Roxas raised a brow at the name.

"Just a nickname. Just about everyone's got one. I think I made most of 'em though. But now you have one, Roxie. It suits you."

"I don't see how..."

"Just trust me."

Roxas rolled his eyes. This guy's smugness was too much to deal with at once. Although atleast he'd made two friends today. That is...if a nobody could even _have _friends, right?

* * *

Axel now led the two blondes through the Member Hallway, where every door had a weapon. They stopped at a door that had nothing on it, at the end of the hallway.

"This can be your new room." Axel said, putting his hand against the door. "Keyblades, right?" he looked for an answer, and upon recieving a nod from Roxas, he turned back, and from within the door, a picture of two crossed keyblades merged into view. He pulled his hand away, and opened the door.

"You can set it up to how you like it later on."

The room was entirelly white. There was only a bed and a dresser, and a door that led to a bathroom. And at the opposite wall from the door, was a window, and a glass door to a balcony. Outside...it was still nighttime. And Roxas could have sworn he'd been here for at least several hours now. His body was heavy with fatigue.

"W...Why is it still dark outside?" Roxas asked, walking to the window and pressing his hands against the cool glass. Axel scratched his head.

"There's no daytime in the World That Never Was. It's always night."

"The World That Never Was?" Roxas repeated, confused.

"It's the world we're in." Demyx commented quietly.

"The World That Never Was...if it never "was", then it never existed. If it never existed, than it's nothing. The World of Nothing. No...the World _for _Nothing."

"World for the Nothings...World for the Nobodies..." Axel continued sadly. Well, as sadly as a nobody could manage.

"I...wanted to see the sunset too." Roxas frowned, looking at the ground.

"The sunset?"

"Yeah."

"Well..." Axel scratched the back of his head. "I think I can manage that. Demyx, you wanna come?"

"Nah, I'll pass. I've still got stuff to do before the day's over, or Xemmy'll kill me." Demyx said wringing his hands, wishing he could join them.

"Wait...where are we going?"

"You'll see, Roxie, you'll see." Axel said, taking his younger friend by the wrist and stepping into a portal.

* * *

"Wow...So..it always stays like this?"

"Yup. It's always setting. Never goes down. The sun never sets here in Twilight Town."

Roxas and Axel sat together on the edge of what looked like a large clock tower, atop a Train Station.

"It's pretty." Roxas commented quietly, kicking his feet lightly in the air. He looked over at Axel, and noticed that he was offering him some sort of ice cream.

"Take it." Axel offered, one in his own hand.

Roxas took it, looking it over for a moment. It was light blue, and on a stick. Certainly something he'd never seen before. He took a tentative bite, and found it incredibly salty. But it only lasted for a moment, and the saltiness was replaced by sweetness. The Key of Destiny quickly devoured the delicious treat.

Axel couldn't help but chuckle. "Sea Salt Ice Cream. Didn't know you'd like it that much."

Roxas gave the redhead a smile. So this was the life of a Nobody? Watching sunsets and eating salty sweet ice cream with new friends. Well if it was, he could _definitely _get used to it.

But boy was he wrong.


	3. Dancers and Lovers

"DEMYX I AM GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU."

"Larxene! No! I didn't mean to, I sweeaaarr!!"

And with that, two doors slammed open simultaneously, from one room burst forth a messy haired blonde boy, summoning his keyblades and running down the hallway. And another door slammed open, and a tall redhead skidded to a stop, turning, then racing after the blonde boy, spinning chakrams in his hands.

"Larxene, don't! He's just an idiot!" Roxas shouted.

It had been roughly two weeks since Roxas was welcomed into the Organization. I say roughly, because it's hard to keep track of days in the World That Never Was, due to the fact it's always night. And Roxas wasn't faring well with that, light being his natural element. But regular trips to Twilight Town always quickly cured that factor.

As serious as this situation might sound, it's actually all fun and games for Axel and Roxas. It was daily thing. Demyx being chased, his life on the line, and Axel and Roxas would come running to save him from a merciless beating.

"AHHH LARXENE DON'T-"

Roxas was actually somewhat enjoying what he had here. Two friends to wreak havoc with, and a Superior that hardly left his office. The only thing he didn't like was the harsh training and the irritable members.

Roxas turned the corner, Axel at his side, and the sight they got was all too hilarious. Axel doubled over laughing, and Roxas couldn't help but release a muffled chuckle.

Demyx was pinned to the wall by Larxene's knives, holding him up by his coat. He dangled like a coat on a coatrack, giving his two friends a weak smile and a wave. Larxene stormed off into a portal of darkness, seemingly finished with tormenting the younger man.

Roxas, seeing the danger was clear, let his keyblades vanish as he walked up to Demyx, laughter rising in his throat.

"What did you do this time?"

"She..almost walked into one of my water clones." The Melodious Nocturne admitted, kicking his dangling feet a bit. "C...can you get me down?"

Axel finally stopped laughing, and joined the two by the wall. "I dunno, Demmy. I mean, Roxie, don't you think he makes such lovely wall art?" Roxas snorted at the remark.

"Well, we _do _need a new coat rack." the fairer blonde put his fingers to his chin, as if thinking.

"Oh yeah! Think! He could hold our hats when we come back from Montemarte! We'll just leave him." Axel pointed into the air theatrically, while Demyx adopted a horrored look.

"W...wait! Aw, c'mon guys! Don't leave me hangin'!"

* * *

Roxas was sitting in the Castle Library, a place that, for some reason, was barely used by anyone else in the Organization except for Zexion and the three 'friends', Fire, Water, and Light. Or, 'RAD', as Demyx insisted on calling them. Although Axel and Roxas weren't too keen on that name, both exclaiming "LAME" when they first heard it.

Roxas kicked his legs lightly, vaguely wondering how he was going to get down from on top of the bookshelf he was sitting on. Ah well, he'd worry about that when he needed to.

_"Hey now, woo, look at that._

_Did he nearly run you down?"_

Roxas jumped up upon hearing someone....singing? And...vaguely meowing like a cat. He looked over and spotted Demyx walking into the Library, completely oblivious to the boy overhead of him. He was dancing a bit as he walked, oversized headphones resting over his ears, blaring loudly. Roxas was able to make out some sort of 80's New Wave. For being a Rocker, Demyx has issues with favoring 80's over any other type of music. Although he was a pretty good singer, so it didn't annoy Roxas all that much.

_"I tell you something, I know what you're thinking_

_I tell you something, I know what you're thinking._

_Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand_

_Just like that river twisting through a dusty land_

_And when she shines she really sho- _Ah!" at last, the mohawked boy noticed Roxas directly above him, and he jumped back in surprise. "R...Roxas!"

"Hey, Dem." he laughed a bit. "You seen Axel?"

"What?"

"You seen Axel?"

"**What!?**" Demyx raised his voice a bit more, and Roxas sighed and motioned for him to remove the headphones. Demyx frowned a bit, and pressed pause on his cd player. Yeah, Demyx was old school, blatantly refusing to get an mp3 player.

"You seen Axel?"

"Yeah. He's apparently making dinner today. Don't know why though. I think he lost a bet."

Roxas snorted, and decided to pay his redheaded friend a visit to make sure he didn't burn the castle down. With ease, he leapt from the bookshelf, landing expertly on his feet, leaving Demyx, who was once again singing.

* * *

Axel chewed on his lip, staring at the pot in front of him with extreme concentration. Then without warning, the entire pot was engulfed in flames.

"HAHA! YES!" the cheer of victory came to Roxas's ears...and eyes...as he entered the burning kitchen.

"AXEL! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

Axel looked up from his work, an innocent expression on his face.

"Cooking."

"Looks more like burning."

"Keh. What's the difference?"

"The fact that one product is edible, and the other is not. Now what are you making?" Roxas peered over the pot, which was filled with some strange black liquid, and that color wasn't from the charring.

"Honestly..." Axel said, scratching his head. "I have no idea. Why, you want some?" he picked up a spoon and put some in it, putting it in Roxas's face.

"Get that away from me." he replied, attempting to swat away the so called "food".

"Well then! I'll be sure never cook anything for you any time in the future." the redhead pouted, crossing his arms and smirking.

"Like I'd want any of it anyways."

"Aww, c'mon Roxie. I bet it's not even that bad. Take a taste!" Axel started laughing, re-scooping the spoon into the pot and attempting to shove it into the blonde's mouth. Quick reflexes helped Roxas grab the taller man's wrists and toss them away, quickly slinking out of harm's way. Then Roxas only replied with the most mature thing he could think of...He stuck his tongue out at him.

Bad idea.

Axel stuck the end of the spoon on Roxas's tongue, and quickly dashed away. Roxas, on the otherhand, quickly spat it out, choking on the taste.

"Oh my God! What WAS that? Agghhh!!" he dashed over to a hand towel and started scouring at his tongue with vigor.

Axel couldn't help but crack up at his friend. "Aww, Rox. You know you liked it!"

"Shut up."

"So...will you help me make some real food? If not...I'll make you eat more." Axel's tone went from playful to serious in a heartbeat. Roxas sighed.

"Fine."

Axel smirked in victory, gathering up various food items. Within a few minutes, they had a decent looking soup cooking on the stove, and it took every bit of strength Roxas had to keep Axel from alighting it. That guy could burn water if he wanted to...Roxas was stirring the soup, slowly, and quietly started saying something under his breath.

_"Well you are the one, the one that lies close to me_

_Whisper's 'Hello, I miss you quite terribly'_

_I fell in love, in love with you suddenly_

_Now there's no place I could be but here in your arms"_

Axel perked up, hearing this, and put a playful arm around Roxas's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Rox, but I love my limbs too much and I don't think I could survive a relationship with you, dearie." the redhead teased, bursting out laughing.

Roxas felt himself blushing, and smacked his friend upside the head. "I was singing a song, you idiot! It's stuck in my head." Roxas pouted. "I'm not gay."

Axel chuckled. "I just couldn't resist." he chuckled, going back to working on the soup.

Roxas however, didn't find it so funny. He continued to pout, crossing his arms. But for some reason...his face continued to flame and his stomach suddenly felt nauseous. What was that for?


	4. Rain, Fish, Absinthe and Cinnamon

**Woo, Chapter 4 already? Wow! Thank you guys soo much for the reviews! And more reviews makes me want to update faster, so you get the picture. XD Ugh, sorry that last chapter was so short. Hopefully this one can make up for it? XD And I've focused on Roxie the past two chapters. It's Axel's turn, this time!!**

**And I still don't own these characters. But do you think with $34.87 I could buy them? Yes, no? XD**

* * *

Bo-ring.

That's the only word to describe the Organization meetings.

Well, aside from dull, monotone, unexciting, and just plain uneventful.

But that's aside from the point.

Axel sighed, leaning back in his uncomfortably large, white chair. Jeez, if they were going to make them sit for hours on end in a useless meeting, they could at least make the chairs moderately tolerable, right?

But then again, this was Xemmy. He was a sadist at heart. Axel was sure of that.

The redhead sighed, squirming more in his chair. He didn't even know what was going on in the meeting. He looked up, noticing it was the same as usual. Xemnas was rambling on in that slow, monotone voice of his, going on about hearts and such. Why wouldn't he realize that some stupid moon wasn't going to give them hearts? Axel sighed, feeling a headache coming, rubbing his gloves fingers over his temples. Freakin' meetings...

Axel shifted again in the chair, gradually slouching lower and lower into it, never really being one to stay still for long, and looked over at the chairs surrounding him. A certain man with vibrant pink hair was scanning his eyes across the group, seemingly looking for something.

Hate him. Axel thought cheerily, looking onto Vexen now. Him him too..And him, and him as well. Hate him, hate, hate, hate.

Axel amused himself by resting his eyes on the members, making his own sarcastic comments about them to himself. When his eyes rested on Demyx, who looked like he was going to fidget his way out of his seat, he rolled his eyes and chuckled.

He's fine. In doses..

But when the redhead found his eyes on Roxas, he thought differently. XIII's eyes were bright and wide, fixed on the Superior, taking in his words. Those eyes..the eyes that would be the death of him. He didn't know what it was, but something about that kid just,

Drove.

Him.

Insane.

But not insane in the bad, 'I want to rip my hair out', kind of way. It was different, and Axel had no clue how to explain it. He growled lightly in annoyance, leaning back, feeling really tired all of the sudden. His headache wasn't helping anything, he decided, leaning his head back against the chair.

Wait a sec...

Axel gripped the chair tightly, the fatigue washing over him in waves now. Why was it so damn cold in this room? Goddamned Vexen messing with the temperature again, most likely. He'd have to rip that guy another-

_It's fucking raining, isn't it?_ The thought suddenly came to him as he pieced together the annoyances into one, plausable cause, and he groaned. Fucking weather. Why did he have to be the most sensitive one out of the group? I mean, rain was a daily thing. It's not everyday there's a drought or a heatwave in the World That Never Was. But rain...rain was regular. Fuck.

The Melodious Nocturne suddenly looked over at the Pyro in the chair next to him. His eyes flickered with concern, and Axel closed his eyes, putting a hand to his cool forehead. Definately not normal for him.

"E...excuse me, Superior?" Demyx's voice stammered, interuppting the Superior's speech."It's raining." the younger man said simply, looking at Axel, who was looking not too lovely at the moment. "Can Axel be excused from the meeting?"

I'll have to thank him for that later...

The Superior's golden eyes flickered in annoyance, before he sighed, and waved a hand. "Fine then. Someone take him to his room."

"I'll take him."

A small voice rang out from the silence, and Axel recognized it as the Key of Destiny's voice. Roxas? Why would Roxas be the one to take him back? He always tried his best to know what was going on in the Organization, seeing as he knew the least about it. But either way, he was thankful.

The younger boy vanished in a plume of purple and black, and quickly reappeared next to the ill-stricken redhead. Maybe that's why the chairs were so big...so more than one person could sit on it. Roxas lifted up the taller male, putting Axel's arm around his neck. Roxas struggled, then lifted up his friend, and they both vanished off of the white chair, and the meeting continued.

* * *

They reappeared in front of Axel's room, Roxas slowly walking forward, as Axel managed to half drag himself.

"You know...it'd be easier if you were taller. You shoulda.." Axel's voice trailed off, not in the mood to give any sarcastic remarks. Roxas only rolled his eyes, holding his friend upright by keeping his arm around his lower back.

Axel shook his head lightly, brushing his hair slightly against Roxas's cheek, and it wasn't until now that Axel's hair wasn't hard from gel that he'd originally assumed. It was soft, and felt as natural as his own.

"Your hair isn't gelled that way?" he murmured gently, and Axel chuckled.

"Nope. Can't stand that feeling." the redhead couldn't help but be amused by the boy's find, as insignificant as it may be.

"Then how does it stay that way?"

Heh, just like Roxas. Always wants to know everything.

"It just does. I don't know."

Roxas shrugged, and Axel was thankful. He just wanted to get into bed and wait for the rain to stop.

"Fucking rain..."

"Shut up, already." Roxas chuckled as he managed to sit Axel down onto his bed. The redhead nodded in thanks, wriggling under his mass of blankets, shivering a bit. Then the blonde turned to leave, but a voice stopped him.

"You're leaving?"

"Um...yeah."

"So...you're just gonna leave me here to stare at the ceiling and listen to the rain?"

"What are you trying to do, give me a guilt trip?"

"Roxie...nobodies can't feel guilt." Axel said with a slight laugh.

"Shut up."

"We can't feel anger either." the pyro teased his younger friend some more.

"Do you want me to leave?" Roxas asked, raising a brow. The pyro quickly silenced, retreating back into the blankets by a few inches.

"Good answer." Roxas replied with a chuckle, sitting down on the edge of the bed. It was silent for a few minutes, the only sound was of the rain. It was calming to Roxas, but agonizing to the pyro. At last, the silence was broken.

"Do you..ever think we'll get hearts from Kingdom Hearts?" Roxas whispered over the sound of the storm.

Axel opened his eyes, the vibrant green visible even in the darkened room. He paused for a moment, then sighed.

"No.."

"But...the Superior said-"

"Forget what the Superior said..." Axel muttered, shaking his head. "He's only filling us all with false hope. We're not going to get a heart by a moon."

"Oh..." Roxas was silent again for a long moment. "So we're never going to become whole."

"Hey now, I never said that."

"What do you mean?"

"I think...I think that there's a way to get a heart. Someway. But not how the Organization sees it. Not by some moon. Not by science. By something else. I don't know what that something else is...but we'll figure it out someday, right?" the redhead gave the blonde a slight smile.

"..Axel?"

"Hm?"

"Let's make a promise." The blonde looked over at his green-eyed friend, his own sapphire orbs shining brightly. "Let's promise that no matter what happens, we'll find away to get that heart. Okay?"

Axel was silent, before he chuckled. "Promise..."

And then he fell asleep.

* * *

"Axel, Axel, wake up."

"Nnngh...no..."

"Axel, get up! We've been assigned a mission!"

"Erngh...How'm I s'pposed to do a mission when I feel like'm dyyyiing..." the redhead growled, forcing a pillow over his head and rolling over, the sound of a storm still at his ears.

"It won't be raining where we're going. I'll make sure of it." the Key of Destiny said with a smirk.

It took a moment to register this, then the redhead peered an eye over the pillow. "We got an inter-world mission? Which world?"

The blonde gave him a smug grin. "Any one we want. I've been assigned to eliminate heartless in other worlds, to add to Kingdom Hearts. You and Demyx are coming with me."

Axel grunted, rolling over again. "Come bring him here and we'll leave."

"Fuck no. There's NO way we're staying here for more than a day." Axel snarled at Demyx, crossing his arms. "I'm a fucking FISH."

"Aww, but you make a cute fishy, Axel!" the blonde boy cooed, doing a graceful backflip.

After begging the two to pick their first destination, Demyx chose Atlantica..unfortunately for Axel. However being half fish, he didn't get sick from all of the water, but he still couldn't control fire. And he still was a cranky little brat.

Axel growled, slumping down next to a coral rock, his new tail flicking in agitation. His entire lower half was now that of a lionfish, red with white stripes and many black spotted spines jutting out along the spine line. It looked rather well on him, actually, the colors blending nicely with his hair.

Roxas swam up next to the unhappy pyro, his own lower half not as elaborate. He was a simple pacific dolphin, black with a long streak of gray, and a gray streaked dorsal fin on his back.

Now that the three weren't wearing shirts, it was now apparently that they were more muscled than they seemed. Roxas, though young, still had a slight build on his body, perfectly proportioned. Axel's waist, though inexplicably thin, had the slight indication of well worked abdominals. And even his lanky arms were still muscled, excusing the thinness. And even Demyx had muscular arms, probably from lifting his oversized sitar. The taller blonde was currently chatting rather animatedly to a blue and blue black fish and her clownfish counterpart.

"It's not that bad. Just let Demyx have his fun and we'll be out of here soon. There's no heartless here." The Key of Destiny tried to comfort his friend, but not getting too close. "At least you get to be a cool fish. I'm a stupid dolphin."

"Oh, I just love being coated in poisonous spines. It must be great fun at parties. If there were any heartless here, I'd probably end up killing you before I killed the heartless." Axel said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "I'm worried about stabbing myself. It's hard keeping track where each spine is at."

"Oh, quit whining Axel." Demyx's voice chimed up as he swam up to the two, his own lower half unable to be classified. It was light blue, almost glittery, with a semi-transparent fish tail. Simple, yet beautiful. And it suited the young man perfectly.

"Shut up or I'll stab you." the redhead snarled.

"Oh, but Axel, you'll put Xaldin out of a job!" Roxas joked, getting up a swimming away a few feet, to avoid an attack.

The redhead could only laugh.

* * *

Axel sighed, oh-too-grateful they'd finally left that watery prison for a much nicer place, in Axel's eyes. Since he'd been so tortured, he got to choose their next destination. And oh, Axel loved it here.

Montemarte.

The Moulin Rouge.

The redhead was dressed in a luxurious red suit with long coattails. His hair was pulled back the best it could into a ponytail, with a top hat placed on top. Demyx wore a shorter dark navy suit with a white under-vest, his own hair slicked back but with round framed glasses on his face.

"Ahh, the creatures of the underworld. Forget Olympus, this place is much better." Axel sighed, looking all around him. They were surrounded by dozens of people. Women in brightly colored clothes, lots of skin, cleavage, lifted skirts and dancing. Tuxedoed men in white vests, hats and canes, trying to look like they were bored, but having way too much fun and eye candy to be convincing. A nearby bar, with men slumped over their drinks, acid green and stinking of alcohol. Feathers, sequins, lace and skin.

Yeah. This place is good.

"Hey Ax...where's Roxie?" Demyx questioned and bit worriedly after Axel had just ordered himself some liqueur.

"He's....missing?"

However no sooner had he said the words, a thin hand reached out and snatched his wrist and pulled him away. Axel grabbed his drink and tried to see who his 'kidnapper' was, but all he saw was the flash of white silk in front of him.

He was pulled into a small corner, pulling up a red curtain and ducking underneath it, away from the writhing mass of dancers and patrons and finally got a look at his new friend. He saw long, curling blonde hair that spiked a bit at the top, a beautiful white silk dress, and a chest that seemed much too small considering this was the Moulin Rouge. Her face was turned away, a hand covering her mouth shyly.

"Hello there, sweetheart. Th'names Axel. And yours?" He replied smoothly, attempting to tilt the girl's chin towards him so he could see her face. She was a petite little thing, but definitely cute.

Heavily glittered eyes looked up to him, and red, pouting lips curled into a frown. A cerulean...familiar eyes opened. Axel furrowed his brows.

"Wait a min-"

THWACK.

Roxas back-handed Axel in the back, shoving him away roughly. "It's me you jerk! You thought I was a stripper didn't you? You thought I was a girl! We're leaving, NOW. Get Dem."

"Woah woah woah! Roxie. That's seriously you? Holy shit! Damn you're hot!" the redhead couldn't help but start laughing at the situation. "Why are you dressed like a girl?"

"I don't know! Like I wanted to! We came here and I was like this!"

"...hey Axel, where'd you go? We really need to find- HOLY CRAP. Roxas is that you!?" Demyx's head appeared, pulling aside the velvet curtain. "You're a gi-"

"JUST SHUT UP AND PORTAL US OUT OF HERE."

* * *

After two more worlds visited, they finally decided to rest up in Twilight Town. The three were sitting on the Clock Tower, watching the eternal sunset.

"I always like it here." Roxas said quietly. "It's like a home away from home to me."

"Like Atlantica is to me." Demyx said cheerily. Axel sighed.

"I guess you could call Moulin Rouge mine. But it's more of a party place than a home, if ya know what I mean." the redhead chuckled a bit. "Although I might be making some more regular trips there, if Roxie's comin'. You were damn fine as a girl."

"For the last time, shut up! God. I wasn't a girl. I was just...in a dress."

"I have to agree with Ax on this one. You were pretty cute! I could just eat you up!" Demyx grinned, poking at Roxas's cheek. Roxas blushed heavily, crossing his arms and pouting.

They sat there for a good twenty more minutes in silence, mulling over thoughts.

"Hey, I'm gonna go get us some ice cream, okay?" Demyx offered, standing up before vanishing.

It was quiet between the two, until Axel finally spoke up, his voice barely a whisper.

"That promise we made...it wasn't a dream, was it?"

Roxas had to think for a moment, before remembering the day in Axel's room. He shook his head. "No."

Axel smiled lightly. "Good."

It was silent again as Roxas watched the swirling oranges and reds, until Axel whispered his name. Roxas turned to look at his friend, and suddenly their lips met in a soft kiss. It shocked Roxas completely, freezing for a moment before pulling away.

"W...what was that for!?" he gasped, looking bewildered.

"Because I wanted to." the redhead said simply with a shrug. "If you don't want it, give it back." the blonde said nothing, only looked shocked. "So you don't want it? Fine, give it back to me." the redhead said with all seriousness.

"Give it back?"

"Yeah, I want my kiss back. Give it back to me." the redhead stuck his hand out expectantly.

"How the hell am I supposed to give it back?"

"Just give me my fucking kiss back!" the redhead said, laughing.

So the blonde took Axel's chin in his fingers, and pressed his lips against his. Roxas noticed a faint taste of cinnamon, and suddenly was curious to see if that was Axel's actual taste. Then he realized it'd been a few seconds, and he backed away slowly. But his heart..or non-existant heart...felt like it wanted more.

"That wasn't my kiss..." Axel barely breathed the words, blinking and grinning slyly a bit. "You gave me a different one." he whispered, leaning in and kissing him again. He could feel it. The shooting electricity that ran between them when their lips met. It made his mind reel, and without warning, he felt Roxas ever-so-slightly, pressing back, urging the kiss to continue. Axel blinked. Did Roxas feel it too? He closed his jade eyes, and continued the kiss, noticing that Roxas tasted sweet, and salty. Like sea salt ice cream. Ha, ironic.

Roxas was shocked. Why did it feel so right? This wasn't right. He didn't have a heart. He couldn't feel. But then..what was this that sped throughout his body? Slowly, he broke the kiss, opening his eyes.

"Now we're even." Roxas breathed the words, and they both stared into each other's blue and green eyes, mouths slightly agape, until a portal appeared next to them as Demyx made his return. Immediately, they both turned away from each other, making it look like nothing happened.

But they both knew. And that's all that mattered to them.


	5. Maybe You're Just Gay for Me?

**Yayyy! Next chapter! I actually hadn't planned on doing it today, but I've got a Pepsi and a bowl of strawberry ice cream, and an hour of free time, so here I go! **

**And I'm still trying to own these charries. It isn't working. XD**

_

* * *

_

_Fuck, fuck, fuck. This makes no sense._

Roxas put his hand to his head, sighing. After Demyx returned, he quietly excused himself from the others, and left for the Tram Common. He needed to think...

_No sense, no sense at all. I mean, never once have I **ever **been attracted to Axel. It's never crossed my mind. Then **why **did we suddenly just start kissing on the clock tower?_

The blonde boy growled in agitation, noticing a cute blonde girl sitting on a bench that he was walking past. He flashed her a smile, and she immediatly blushed, and turned away giggling.

_See? She was cute. I was **attracted** to her. A girl._

His head turned to a group of guys hanging out near a building. He looked at them, and sighed.

_No attraction to them. They're just guys. Nothing different. So if I'm not gay..then why did it feel so **right** to kiss Axel? I don't find him physically attractive. Well, not now. But..I just don't know._

Roxas sighed, sitting down on the ground, his back against a wall, and he closed his eyes. He tucked his hands into the sleeves of his coat, and mulled everything over in his head. Then suddenly he heard light footfalls coming towards him. He recognized them, and didn't open his ears. He heard a rustle of leather as the newcomer sat down next to him.

"Roxas..." The Flurry of Dancing Flames' voice whispered, concern in his voice. "I...I'm sorry."

"No. It's nothing you did."

"Yeah it is."

"No, it's not. It's...the fact that nothing makes sense."

Axel raised a brow, and the blonde opened his eyes.

"What doesn't make sense?" the redhead questioned.

"Everything."

"Define: everything."

Roxas sighed. "I saw a girl...when I was walking. She was cute. I saw a bunch of guys. They were just guys to me..So then..why did I kiss you, if I'm not gay?"

Axel chuckled. "Maybe you're just gay for me?"

"Heh.." Roxas laughed a bit, then turned to his friend with a smile. "I guess...I just have to deal with it."

"Mhm..."

It was quiet between them, an awkward silence, before Roxas spoke again.

"And...I just can't pretend anymore."

"Pretend what?"

"Pretend that I don't..." his voice trailed off. Axel raised a brow at his friend.

"That I don't want to do this.." Roxas quickly pressed his lips against the redhead's in a bruising kiss. Axel tensed for only a split moment from the initial shock, before relaxing and putting his arms around the smaller boy's body, returning it with a rough kiss. Roxas moaned gently into the kiss as Axel bit at Roxas's bottom lip, then licking away the pain. They suddenly broke apart when Roxas's body racked with a sob.

"What's wrong with us Axel.." his words were barely a choked sob, and he pressed his face into the taller man's chest.

"There's nothing wrong, nothing." Axel whispered quickly, nuzzling his chin into the spiky blonde hair.

"Yes...yes there is. We don't have hearts!" he sobbed piteously, feeling an alien wetness on his cheeks. "We can't _feel!_ But...I _can!_ When I'm with you...I _feel!_" his tone was so pitiful, so helpless, that Axel couldn't help but swallow back something, and hold him closer as the boy's body shuddered from emotions that shouldn't be there. After several quiet minutes, Roxas finally stopped crying, and looked up to his beloved redhead.

"It makes no sense."

Axel smiled comfortingly, and brushed away the tears with his thumb. "It doesn't have to."

Roxas's mouth was slightly agape. He had nothing to say to this, so he only put his head against the older man's chest, and sighed, closing his eyes.

"We can't...let anyone find out." Axel finally said quietly.

"Why?"

"Because...we can't. Imagine what Xemnas would think if he knew we thought we could _feel."_

"I..don't know."

"I do...and it wouldn't be pretty. We can't let anyone know. Of everyone, Xemnas _feels_ the least. He'd claim us to be fools, try to break us. We can't let that happen...Not when.." his voice cracked. "Not when I finally feel like I have a heart...Roxas..._you are my heart!_" the redhead's voice broke, nuzzling his cheek into the soft blonde locks.

_My heart._

* * *

"See you in hell, heartless bastard!!" Axel's voice roared over the sound of the battle, his arms whirling around to slash three neoshadow heartless across the chest with his chakrams. 

"Roxas! Axel! I'm here!" Demyx's voice was heard by the two as the taller blonde ran into the brawl, summoning his sitar into his hands.

Roxas grunted, whirling around his keyblades and slash them one by one, watching the pink or red hearts float up into the sky. Sweat poured down his forehead, and suddenly he felt a tearing at his arm. A heartless had bitten onto his forearm, and he attempted to shake it off, to no avail.

"Roxas, I gotcha!" Axel called, slashing his burning chakram across the heartless' body, and it vanished. Around the three men, huge flames and orbs of water worked their ways on the surrounding heartless, whlie weapons slashed and stabbed.

Slowly, the number of heartless dwindled, much like the strength of the cloaked figures. With one final slash, Roxas's Oblivion collided with the head of a neoshadow, and it vanished, leaving behind black smoke, and a heart that floated to the sky, making it's way to Kingdom Hearts. Without warning, he felt a hand take his, hiding the gesture between them.

Roxas looked over to see Axel, and gave him a grin. Axel only smirked, wiping his forehead with his free hand. Demyx, oblivious to the quick gesture of affection made between the two, sighed, looking up at the sky.

"And to think...all this work we're doing...and it might not even work." Demyx sighed, letting his sitar vanish.

Roxas nodded, looking upward towards the redhead next to him. They exchanged a quick kiss while the taller blonde's back was turned.

_Yeah..._Roxas thought. _I could get used to this..._

* * *

**Awwww this chapter was so full of "squee". It made me sooo happy! And _yes, _Nobodies can cry. Don't believe me, go watch the new Final Mix videos. So anyways, the plot's finally gotten majorly kicked into gear! And some of you are probably wondering, whatever happened to that first paragraph? Where Roxas was bound and tortured? Don't worry...that's coming! ;)**


	6. A New Me, a New Us

**Ugh, that last chapter was so short. XD Hopefully I can make up for it again. And I'm sooooo sorry it took so long for this one to come out! I had MAJOR writer's block after this first part. Next chapter will be out very soon!**

**Still can't buy 'em. And the song Roxas sings is "Right Where You Want Me" by ROXAS. XDD Well..you know who it's by, but I refuse to say it. But you should know who I'm talking about. coughcoughStupidPrettyBoyJessecoughcough But yeah. I don't own it. I also down own Linkin Park "Leave out all the Rest".**

**EDITTED: Had to edit a few things in here due to future plot conflict.**

* * *

Roxas stopped, looking down at his paper of scribbled out and rewritten words. Of the entire paper, there was only a few lines he'd actually decided on. He hummed the tune in his head lightly, and chewed on the end of the pencil. He was laying on his bed, stomach down and knees bent so his legs kicked lightly in the air. Song writing was something he liked, that he'd never knew before. 

They were in a motel in Twilight Town for the night. I mean, where else would they sleep on missions? Axel had taken the liberty of renting three seperate rooms, thankfully. He took the pencil from his mouth, and continued to write.

_Can't explain it,_

_How you swept me off my feet, unexpectedly._

_In slow motion,_

_My imagination's running, trying to keep my body still,_

_I can hardly stand the thrill._

Stuck once again, Roxas chewed on the eraser, trying to get through his writer's block.

"Chewing pencils is a nasty habit, you know." a voice came from the doorway, and Roxas whirled around to see Axel standing there. He hadn't even heard the man open the door.

"Axel..." Roxas sat up, quickly sliding the paper underneath his pillow as Axel sauntered towards him and sat down on the bed.

"Oh, what's this?" Axel raised a brow, reaching for the pillow. Roxas yelped and grabbed the offending arm, instead wrapping it around his neck and putting his lips to the redhead's.

"Mmm...you're not allowed to look at that..." Roxas mumbled through the kiss, to which the redhead instantly responded, wrapping his arms around the blonde. In the back of Roxas's mind, he vaguely noticed that Axel always smelled of smoke and burning wood. But not the bad smoke, like a cigarette, but like the smoke of a fire. It was nice...

"Come on, Roxie...lemme' see..." Axel muttered, attempting to reach for the pillow, and instead was suddenly surprised as Roxas's tongue licked at his lips, seeking entry.

"You must _really_ not want me to see...oh, Roxie, is it something naughty?" he teased, pulling away from the boy.

"No!" the blonde said defiantly, diving for the pillow and grabbing the paper from beneath it.

"Smut! It's smut, isn't it?" Axel smirked, and pinned the boy onto the bed by his arms, his strength greater than the blonde's.

"I win." he said with a smirk, leaning down and pressing his lips against the blonde's, who fought back for a moment, before falling slave to him. Axel licked at his lips, to which Roxas obliged, and their tongues met in a new sensation. Roxas's body went limp beneath the redhead's touch, then without warning, Axel snatched the paper from the boy's hand. He started to read, his smug grin growing wider with every line he read.

"Aww, is little Roxie writing poetry?"

"N...no! It's...a...it's a song." he barely mumbled the last words, his cheeks flushing.

"Oh really?" Axel said, raising a brow. "Sing it for me."

"Whaa? No!"

Axel pouted, resting his head against the blonde's shoulder. "Please?"

"No."

"Pleeeaase?" he begged, nuzzling into the boy's soft neck. The blonde shuddered at the touch, and sighed.

"Fine." he pushed the redhead off of him, and looked at the paper, and started singing.

"_Baby, take me on a journey._

_I've been thinking lately,_

_I could use a little time alone with you._

_Crazy, let's do something, maybe._

_Please don't take your time,_

_You got me,_

_Right where you want me."_

Roxas stopped for a moment, to swallow. Axel put his chin in his hands as he listened, a content expression on his face.

_"I never thought that it could be like this,_

_But I was wrong._

_Baby, don't be gentle,_

_I can handle anything."_

Roxas stopped, blushing a deep shade of red. "That's all I have..."

Axel smirked, putting an arm around the younger boy's waist. "It's lovely. You're a good singer, too."

"No I'm no-" he was cut off as Axel's lips pressed against his, a tongue finding it's way into his mouth. He mumbled something intelligible, before melting into the kiss, closing his eyes. Axel always tasted sweet...with a peculiar spicyness that could only be described as cinnamony. When they finally seperated, Roxas sighed, laying down onto the bed, pulling Axel down next to him. The blonde yawned, curling up next to the pyro, noticing he gave off a distinct warmth, like a fire danced within the body itself.

"Ax...el..." the boy's words drifted off as fatigue overtook the boy's body, and within moments, Axel noticed he was asleep. His body, normally strong and steadfast, suddenly seemed to fragile, as the body slept, curling up and clinging to the redhead's warm body. The faintest of smiles came across the pyro's face, and he immediately was astounded. When had he begun smiling so gently? He hadn't even noticed he'd been doing it. The Axel he once was never smiled so warmly. The Axel he used to be...was completely different. His first joining of the Organization but a year or so ago, he was so different. What...had changed him?

_**"I've seen him. The new guy." Xigbar muttered to a passing Zexion. Interest flickered across the Schemer's face for only a moment, before being replaced with boredom.**_

_**"Really?" the man replied tersely, boredom in his voice, although the other man could sense the curiousity in his reply.**_

_**"Yeah. He's a wild one." the ponytailed Freeshooter said, crossing his arms.**_

_**"Aren't they all?" Zexion rolled his eyes, and Xigbar snorted in laughter.**_

**_"Yeah, but, this guy's a case. Xemnas says he's tearing himself up from the inside. Axel can't stand living without a heart." the black haired man said with a wave of his hand._**

_**"So what's Superior going to do about it?"**_

_**"Nothing, yet. VIII's going through a rebellious phase right now. He's pitiful looking, and he hasn't mastered his fire element yet. Anything sets him off. Burning up everything around him. He starts fights, too. And I heard from Vexen that just yesterday, he got some tattoos done. Haven't seem 'em yet."**_

_**Axel narrowed his eyes, finally deciding to show himself, and casually walked around the corner, entering the hallway where the two were talking, the temperature immediatly rising. With every footstep, a small flame lasted where his boot had landed, before flickering away. He avoided their gazes, until as he passed by them, he turned to look.**_

_**They got a sight of a tall, redhaired man. Extremely thin, and moved with a sway, almost like a Dusk. The two said nothing, as their gazes met with a pair of piercing green eyes. And in those eyes, was anger, hatred, and...despair. Fire burned wildly in them, almost daring them to speak to him. Beneath his eyes were the marks of new, teardrop shaped tattoos, the motive behind them known only to their owner. And at the corners of his eyes, was newly placed red ink, that seemed to make his eyes angle upwards. It was bewildering, to think the man would even consider tattooing so close to his eyes. The glare held for a moment, until Axel vanished around the next corner, the temperature in the room returning back to normal.**_

Axel sighed, scratching his head. He was a case then, they were right. But they never seeked out to console him in his anguish. Never once. Not until Demyx came. That whiny little brat was the only one to ever bother speaking to Axel. They were somewhat close friends, but never anything more. Although one thing always bugged him. Demyx always believed in what the elders said about Kingdom Hearts. The kid would fall for anything.

But not Roxas.

He had an opinion, and Axel admired that. They both agreed that the Superior's Great Kingdom Hearts was nothing more than a fleeting dream. Even still...he so desperately wished to feel that familiar beating in his chest. He frowned, coming out of his slight daze as Roxas shifted lightly in his sleep, mumbling something intelligable as his hands clung to Axel's coat for protection. Axel smiled oh-so-gently, carefully ruffling the boy's hair, before picking up the paper with Roxas's song on it. He chuckled lightly, grabbing the pencil and beginning to write.

* * *

Roxas's eyes fluttered open, and he groaned lightly, rolling over and reaching out for the warm body next to him. However there was nothing there...only air. He groped at the emptiness uncertainly, clearly remembering Axel being there before he fell asleep. The only sign of him being there was the faint, lingering scent of smoke, and the familiar taste of cinnamon on his lips from what must've been a 'See you soon, sleepy' kiss. 

"Mmmhmm...he must've left." he mumbled sleepily, letting his arm flop down where Axel once was. But he heard the slight 'crinkle' of crumpling paper. He rubbed his eyes, and looked at the spot where his hand was, the feel of paper beneath his fingers. He looked at it, and it was his song on the front. But on the back...was something new, in Axel's handwriting.

_I dreamed I was missing_

_You were so scared_

_But no one would listen_

_Cause no one else cared_

_After my dreaming_

_I woke with this fear_

_What am I leaving_

_When I'm done here_

_So if you're asking me_

_I want you to know_

_When my time comes_

_Forget the wrong that I've done_

_Help me leave behind some_

_Reasons to be missed_

_And don't resent me_

_And when you're feeling empty_

_Keep me in your memory_

_Leave out all the rest_

Roxas sighed, a sudden sadness filling his chest. Axel was a writer too? Huh, he never would've guessed. He read it once more, seeing the care written in the words, before neatly folding it small and slipping it into his coat pocket. He'd keep a hold of that...

"Roxaaaasss!!" a loud, sing-song voice seeped beneath the door, entering the room.

"Roxaaasssss wake uuuuppp!!!" Demyx yelled, knocking on the door and entering, his shining face the exact opposite of what Roxas wanted to see this early in the morning. The Key of Destiny growled, throwing his pillow at the mohawked young man, and rolled over.

"Shut up."

"But Roxxiieee...Axel sent me to wake you up."

"Did he now?" Roxas perked a brow, crossing his arms and pouting.

"Yep!"

Roxas narrowed his eyes. "Fine. I'll be up in a minute." he huffed, getting up to take a shower.

* * *

"You fucking jackass." Roxas snarled, throwing a pillow at Axel's face as the redhead came to urge the blonde to hurry, and finish getting ready. 

"Heyyy...what's the problem?"

"You sent Demyx." he stated coldly, pulling on his Organization coat.

"Aii...I'm sorry. But I couldn't do it myself." he said with a wink. "The little fucker came to wake me up first. I told him to go get you." Axel smirked, as he took the blonde's chin and looked into his eyes. Those bright, saphirre eyes that just made Axel melt. He pressed a gloved finger to the blonde's pouting lips, and grinned smugly.

"You pout too much. But it's cute."

The blonde swatted the hand away. "Shut up." he snapped, crossing his arms. Axel sighed, and held his chin in his fingers once again, laying a soft, protective kiss against the boy's pouting lips. His fingertips ran along the blonde's jawline, to deepen the kiss. But instead of responding, the boy simply pushed him away.

"Aww, Roxie..." he whined, running his thumb along the Key of Destiny's bottom lip. He could _never _get enough of those lips of his.

"I'm not kissing you back until you explain something to me."

Axel raised a brow, sitting down on the bed. "Oh, and what's that? And if it's the birds and the bees talk, go find somewhere else. I'm here to give the sex, not explain it." he smirked, laughing. Roxas only rolled his eyes.

"No. It's not, stupid." he snapped. Axel sighed, and motioned for the younger man to come and sit on his lap. Roxas sighed and did so, as Axel wrapped his arms protectively around the boy, his chin nuzzling the top of his head.

"So whatcha want to ask?"

"I...don't get it. Why can't anyone find out about us?"

Axel sighed, cuddling Roxas closer to him. "Well..think for a minute. Of all the nobodies, do you notice that some _do _seem to have emotions? Like Demyx's cheer, or Larxene's anger? Well...I think...that nobodies _can _feel. Just...not like Somebodies. It's not as strong. It's like...our emotions are like a light, in a thick fog. You can hardly see it, but it takes a lot of effort to see it clearly. We...we can see our emotions clearly. Well, as clear as we're able to...as Nobodies. The others are still stuck in the fog." he paused, stroking the boy's hair. "Now, of all the nobodies, who do you feel has the _least _emotions."

"...Xemnas."

"Exactly. Xemnas is the most emotionless of all of us. I think it's because he purely believes he cannot feel. Some of us...are probably more doubtful. Now, if Xemnas were to find out that we believe that we can _feel, _then I'm sure he'll mark us as traitors. Saying that we're denying the fact that we're nobodies, or something. I don't know what will happen, exactly. But it won't be good."

"I think you're overthinking this."

Axel chuckled. "Yeah...well...I'd rather be a Secretive Overthinker...than risk losing you." he muttered, nuzzling the blonde's head with his chin.

Roxas looked up at him with shining eyes, then without warning, leaned up and kissed him on the mouth. Axel hesitated from surprise for a moment, before wrapping his arms around the boy, responding instantly. Roxas squirmed a bit, shifting his legs around so he was facing the redhead, and their kiss only deepened.

And it was some point in time while Roxas's tongue explored his mouth, that Axel realized something. This single boy...had saved him. Roxas was his savior, from his suffering denial that he had no heart. But here...this boy was the one that was able to soothe the tortured nobody with the spirit of fire. When had it happened? Was it their first kiss? Or even before that? Axel didn't even know the answer himself. And with that thought, Axel held his precious Roxas closer, kissing him more forcefully, all of his lonliness and despair flooding out from that one kiss.

And as the two shared their newfound emotions, both of them were oblivious to the bewildered and awe-struck blonde outside their door.

* * *

**Wooo, cliffhanger! Next chapter will be out sooner than this one took, promise. I won't keep you waiting _too _long. ;)**


	7. Sins, Flirts, and Parties

_**Here's the cliffy you've been KILLING yourselves about, apparently! XD Here's Demmy! Agghhh I love his point of view so much. I think I'll be using it again sometime. It's even more fun than Axel's uber cockiness. Harrr fun.**_

**_And it may seem like it, but I'm not teasing Demyx of being stupid in here. I don't see him as dumb. He's just innocently cute like that. _**

**_Disclaimers: Still can't buy 'em, and I use the song "Original Sin" by INXS._**

* * *

_"Ba ba baba da...You might know of the original sin._

_And you might know how to play with fire."_

Demyx sang softly, even including the sounds of the sythesizer, happily walking down the hall. His feet stepped to the beat of a song that circulated through his head, unheard by anyone but the mullhawked blonde.

_"BUT. DID. YOU. KNOW."_ he chanted steadily, skipping on one foot.

_"Of the murder committed_

_In the name of love, yeah! You thought what a pity..." _

He grinned delightedly, before stopping in front of Roxas's room, wondering what was taking Roxas so long to get ready. Axel had gone to get him a few minutes ago. That boy had such a little body, there wasn't much there to have to take so long in the shower! He prepared to knock on the door, but suddenly froze in position, his fist inches away from the door, as he heard a voice.

_"You pout too much. But it's cute."_

Demyx froze, a blatant question mark being pasted on his head. Cute..what? He heard a distinctive "Shut up", and a whining "Aww, Roxie", and breathed a sigh of relief. Okay, nothing weird there. Jeez, Demyx, what's wrong with your mind today? You've been spending too much time with Axel. He's dirtying your mind.

_"I'm not kissing you back until you explain something to me."_

Demyx almost choked on his breath, reeling backwards from the door. Kissing?? What the hell?? What was going on in there? He heard the faint creak of a bed, and his hands shot up to the sides of his head.

_"Oh, and what's that? And if it's the birds and the bees talk, go find somewhere else. I'm here to give the sex, not explain it."_

Demyx almost passed out, beginning to hyperventilate a bit. He continued to step backwards, before he lost his footing and slipped, landing right on his backside. He mumbled a silent 'ouch'.

_"No. It's not, stupid."_

_"So whatcha want to ask?"_

_"I...don't get it. Why can't anyone find out about us?"_

Demyx raised a brow. They were keeping a secret?...oh my gosh, this can't be what he thinks it is. He crawled over to the door, and with his gut wrenching in guilt, he pressed his ear against the door. Hating himself for eavesdropping, he promised to punish himself later. He listened to the redhead nobody's voice, explaining something about emotions, and fogs. Demyx's eyes widened a bit. Yeah...he'd noticed it too. Nobodies seemed to have emotions, at times. But you had to pay attention to notice it. Demyx could _swear_ that at times, he could _feel _the happiness he was portraying, throughout his body.

And Axel's voice...was so soft, so gentle, so full of worry. Demyx couldn't help but feel...sympathetic? Oh man..that was an emotion, wasn't it? He sighed lightly, blinking a bit, before hearing a soft chuckle.

_"Yeah...well...I'd rather be a Secretive Overthinker...than risk losing you."_

Demyx swallowed, his throat suddenly scratchy and dry. Why...why did it sound like Axel cared so much? Axel can't care. He's a nobody. No heart. But then again...Axel was always different from the others. Curiousity got the best of him, and gulping down his self shame, he looked into the keyhole.

Only to get an eyefull of his two best friends completely making out.

Demyx gasped a bit too loudly, jumping away from the door, stepping back against the opposite wall.

"Holy fricker...they're gay..." was all he could stammer, his back pressing against the wall. He slid down to sit, his knees at his chest. He put his hands to his head, gently stroking his fingertips over the baby soft hair of the shaven sides of his head. His head shook lightly, eyes widening in disbelief.

"Oh...my...goodness...this is _so_ not good." he muttered, closing his eyes tightly. It wasn't so much as the fact that they were gay, that bothered him, it was that they were portraying emotions. All his time here in the Organization, Xemnas had drilled it into the rocker boy's head that nobodies couldn't feel. Those who believed that they could..were traitors. But Axel and Roxas...they were his friends! Well, as close to 'friends' as nobodies could get.

But then again. Axel and Roxas looked pretty far past 'friendly' in there.

Demyx sighed. What was he going to do? He couldn't tattle on his best buds. It just didn't seem right. But he couldn't tell them that he knew! And he couldn't let anyone else find out! Oh maaann..this was sooo confusing.

The doorknob suddenly twisted a bit, and Demyx quickly jumped up, about three feet in the air, and quickly dashed over to a nearby maid's cart, leaping behind it.

Eww..dirty towels..

Roxas peeked his head out of the door, looking down one end of the hall, then the other, before looking back inside his room.

"It's okay. Go quickly." Roxas whispered, pushing a nervous looking redhead out into the hallway. Axel quickly regained his composure, and started walking cooly down the hallway. Demyx slinked farther down to the floor, his nose uncomfortably close to a bottle of cleaning detergent. Ugh..eyes..watering...alchohol...stink...

He managed to shake his head, before peering through the cart again as Axel turned down the hallway, to the lobby. He let out a relieved sigh, standing up, and getting away from the smelly old cart. He nodded his head as his decision of what to do was made, and he walked down towards his own room, like nothing happened. On his way, he began singing softly under his breath.

_"There was a time when I did not careAnd there was a time when the facts did stare__There is a dream and it's held by many_

_Well I'm sure you had to see_

_It's open arms." _He stopped singing for a moment, before looking back at Roxas's door.

_"Dream on Axel_

_Dream on Roxas_

_And wake up to a brand new day..." _he trailed off, swallowing.

_"To find your dreams...To find...your dreams...have...have..." _he paused, not willing to say the next line.

"I won't let your dreams wash away, guys." he said seriously, closing his eyes, and sighing.

_

* * *

_

Demyx sighed, his forehead pressed again the glass of a vending machine inside the too-small room. Why was it that hotels always had to put the vending and ice machines in such small, smelly rooms? He closed his eyes to think about how he was going to protect his friends' secret without letting them know that he knew, and to avoid looking at the bag of potato chips that were taunting him. He wished he had just an extra 5 munny right about now. 

He stepped back, quickly fixing the mohawk portion of his hair, and pulling the stray strands back over his eyes, before exiting the room with a huff.

Stupid chips.

He sighed, wishing he had his cd player right about now. He rolled his eyes, his short attention span being caught by the strange sight of a flower vase with peacock feathers in it. Um...what was that supposed to be? Art? Um, yah, no. Lame.

Man..this place was a drag. He contemplated going to check out the arcade. That was, until, he turned the corner. He saw a little sitting area next to the room where the swimming pool was. It looked like a young child's birthday was being held there, by the evident sign of "Happy 10th Birthday!" Now normally, he would've instantly gone off to see what the pool was like, had it not have been for the two teenage girls in the sitting room.

They caught his attention by their peculiar behavior. They looked much older than ten, and he assumed they were roughly his age, if he were a Somebody. Probably 16 or 17. They were walking around the table, digging through party favor bags, pulling out Super Bouncy Balls, commenting on the color, then putting them back. Demyx watched them for a minute, until they were both satisfied with their color choices.

There was a taller brunette with a blue super ball, with hair flipped over her right eye that instantly reminded the Melodious Nocturne of Zexion. Only instead of having the confusing purple/blue/gray/silver hair, it was honey brown. What color _was _Zexy's hair anyways? He couldn't decide. After a moment of puzzling, he settled on Gwurple. Yeah. Something like that.

He shook his head again, blinking at the two girls. Along with the brunette, there was a long haired blonde, clutching a purple super ball in her hands. They squealed about the importance of the colors, both commenting on how they wished there was a red one.

Demyx was immediatly struck with jealousy. Wait..emotion, right? Darnit. Well...something close to jealousy. Whatever. Too confusing for him.

All he knew was...that he wanted a bouncy ball too. Fricker.

"H..hey there!" Demyx finally raised his voice, to be noticed.

"Oh, hi!" the brunette noticed him first, nudging her blonde friend to look at their guest.

"Hey there!" the blonde retorted cheerily.

"Hey..umm...who's party is this?" Demyx questioned with a flash of a smile, to which they both blushed at.

"It's her little sister's." the brunette pointed to the blonde.

"Cool, cool." he said, crossing his arms and nodding his head. O-kay. Sexy time. "Can...can I have a Bouncy Ball too??" he asked cutely, flicking a piece of hair out of his face. The girl's fought back a squeal, and nodded.

"Sure! Just pick any bag and dig. The midgets won't notice." the blonde said with a smile. Aha, they just couldn't resist the Demyx charm. He winked at them in thanks, and waltzed over to the tables. For Somebodies, they were pretty cute. Affection. Another emotion? Darnit, why didn't he ever notice this kinda stuff before?

He picked a random bag, and reached in, pulling out a light blue, white swirled ball. He spun it in his fingers, before bouncing it happily off the ground.

"Thanks!" he thanked them, before the mullet headed boy suddenly screeching, and crumpled to the floor. SOMETHING WAS TOUCHING HIS NECK GAAAAHH!!!

You might not know this, but Demyx has issues with his neck. If anyone..._anyone _touches his neck without permission, he spazzed. Completely. He'd tense up and start seizuring or whatever you'd call it, curling into a ball and whimpering for it to stop. Of course, who else would know this, and purposely do it to tease him?

None other than number VIII.

* * *

Roxas rolled his eyes, and smacked Axel on the shoulder. "Don't do that! You know he hates it!" he pointed to the writhing Demyx on the floor, before noticing the two girls in front of him. "Oh..hi." he managed to mutter weakly, wishing he could be away from the two idiots beside him. Then suddenly, Axel turned to face the two girls, smiling warmly. 

"Hello, ladies." he said smoothly, running a hand through his hair. "Looks like you're causing some mischeif while everyone's away...am I right?" he said with a sly wink, pulling off his Mr. Suave act. Very debonair. Stupid flirt..

"Well, I guess you could say that..." the blonde grinned, rolling her eyes playfully. Axel chuckled, and took each of the girls' hands and gave them both a chaste kiss. Roxas snorted in disgust, feeling a slimy feeling bubble up from the pit of his stomach.

Envy. Pure. Envy.

"The name's Axel. Got it...memorized?" he said smoothly, his bright green eyes flashing mischeiviously.

"And I'm Demyx. With a 'Y'. It's a pleasure to meet you ladies." Demyx joined in with the fun, not to Roxas's surprise. Okay, okay. Fun's over. Let's _go._

"Come on you two. We've gotta go. Nice to meet you girls, but we really need to get going." Roxas said quickly, taking the taller Nobodies by the wrist and dragging them away. And as they left, he could swear he heard the girl's whispering to each other.

"Oh man..they were so _sexy!_ The mohawked one, he was so adorable!"

"Oh I know! Did you _see_ the redhead? I couldn't keep my eyes off of him! Who knew guys could have such gorgeous waists?"

The Key of Destiny knew Axel had heard it...by his smug-ass grin.

* * *

**Heeee fun with this chapter. I looove Demyx. He just strikes me as the type to be "Axel and Roxas' Guardian Angel", so to speak. He'd want to protect them.**

**Sorry for the wait. I've actually been working on the sequel to this...already! I know, I know. I also have a list FULL of plans for this story, so I've been putting off what's happening RIGHT NOW. So yah, I apologize.**

**I've also gotten questioned as to why there's so much singing in this story. The reason is, I see music as a way to express oneself. And since I see Nobodies as being unable to do that, they use music as a way to release some of the words they themselves are unable to speak on their own. It's not as if they just break out into song either. Only Demyx does that. XDD**

**Also, the theme song of this fanfiction is "Here In Your Arms" by Hellogoodbye. It will come back to haunt/Bless this story again soon. XD I envision it as the pair's own kind of.."Their Song", because it was Roxas singing that song that made them realize their affections for each other, even if they didn't know it themselves.**


	8. Why Hello, Mr Quivering Pile of Flesh!

**Awwww, chapter VIII! Lol fangirl. Anyways. So sorry for the wait! Excuses are later, I'm sure you want to read this next chapter rather than listen to me babble!**

**Disclaimers: I tried to steal Roxas...but Axel chakram'd me. And I tried to steal "Here in Your Arms" by Hellogoodbye...and they just laughed at me. TT**

* * *

_"Riku!"_

_The silver haired male turned around, flashing me a toothy smile, aquamarine eyes flashing in the tropical sunlight._

_"You're such a loser." he chuckled, ruffling my hair. I pouted in protest. He always falls for that._

_"Aww...c'mon. Please?" I whine, clinging to the muscular arm of Riku. He rolled his eyes at me, like he always does, and ruffled my already messy hair. __And I could swear, I felt myself blush. Ohh..could he see it??_

"AH!" Roxas jumped forward from his bed, his hand at his head. "What the hell was that? Who's Riku?" he muttered to himself, eyes wide in disbelief. He'd never seen that silver haired boy...but why did he...feel like he knew him? Like he..cared? That feeling was only for Axel, not some random stranger.

_Axel...that clingy idiot._

It's been three days now, on the trio's mission to destroy heartless, and as far as Axel and Roxas knew, Demyx was none the wiser to their relationship.

_And it doesn't help that Axel's constantly flirting and clinging to me like an overproctive boyfriend with his innocent new girlfriend. He hasn't done it with Dem around, but I know he's gonna be dumb enough to get us caught one day. I like it and all...but Dem pops in out of nowhere. I don't want us to get caught. But as many times as I push Axel away or act like I don' t care...I so dearly care for him. I'm just playing 'hard to get'. What's wrong with a little challenge on Axel's part, huh?_

Roxas rubbed his eyes blearily, and stretched out his body like a cat to yawn. That bed was killer on his neck. He had to admit...Agrabah had _terrible_ affordable hotels. The one in Twilight Town was much nicer. And it didn't help that every day Roxas had to deal with Fat Bandits...those buggers. Things that fat should NOT be fighting...or have the ability to puke fire...Roxas tugged on a singed blonde spike forlornly.

Roxas sighed, and began packing his things into a suitcase, making sure to snag his red stuffed moomba plushie from the bed. What? Don't look at him like that! It was red...and spiky. It just...never appealed to him until a few weeks ago!

Roxas shoved everything into the suitcase, then murmured a silent spell under his breath. The case shrunk down to the size of a matchbox, and he tucked it into a pocket on the inside of his coat. What, you honestly thought they would lug around their things at all times? Of course there's a loophole.

He sighed, and walked over to his window to open it. He was met with a blast of dry, sandy air, and wondered how Demyx was coping.

* * *

"Axxeellllllllllll I'm dyyyyyiiinnnggg..." Demyx whined from his place in the pool, courtesy of the Agrabah Inn. It was pretty small, indoors, and had _way _too much chlorine. Demyx hated chlorinated water. It just wasn't natural to put chemicals in water. Hellooo? Pollution! But...it was water...and it helped to keep the blonde Nobody in working condition. He lazily swam over to the edge to get his jug of water, and chugged it down. It didn't help. His mouth still tasted dry. 

"Shut up. Now you know how I feel every time it rains. Only it's worse for me." Axel snapped from his place a few good meters away from the pool, sitting on a beach chair. Laid across his legs was an oversized beach towel, used to protect himself from Demyx's stray splashes.

Demyx groaned, leaning to float on his back. He didn't look as good as he usually does. The desert air had weakened him, making his shiny blonde hair dull and lifeless. The mohawk was gone, and instead fell back along his head, unable to stay spiked. It left only a side shaven mullet.

"Can't we leave this world yeeeet? I can't even make any waters clones, or summon my sitar."

"I said shut up. You're being too dramatic. You've got your water, now quiet."

"Make Roxy hurrryyy." he continued to draw out his words, fighting the urge to splash the pyro.

"Shut up Demyx." Roxas' voice came to the pair's ears. Demyx half expected Axel to jump up and attack the boy with love. Of course, Demyx was still there, and they were keeping up their charade. So Axel only looked at the Key of Destiny with sparkling jade eyes glinting cheerfully. Demyx sang in his head. _I know something they don't know..._

"Morning Dem, Axel." Roxas continued, walking over to the pool edge. "Get out now, Dem, we're leaving now."

"FINALLY!" the Melodious Nocturne cheered, crawling out of the pool. In any other world, Demyx would dry him off by summoning the water into globs, and pull it away from his body..which resulted in leaving his hair perfectly flawless and dry. But since this was the desert, Demyx had to resort to shaking himself like a dog.

Axel cursed as the water began to fly towards him, and ducked underneath his beach towel in time to avoid the splash.

Roxas, however, wasn't so lucky. He was drenched head to toe in public pool water. After a torturous thirty seconds of shaking, shouting, splashing and swearing obsceneties, Demyx finally ceased, contently dried.

"God dammit Demyx_!"_ Roxas shouted, wringing out his hair. Axel emerged from the towel, laughing heartily.

"_So _glad I was prepared."

"Shut up."

"I'lllll be going now!" Demyx said quickly, dashing off to change. He looked back, giggling. _Success!_

Why, he felt just like Cupid! Only cuter, and potty trained!

* * *

Axel stood up, smirking, and walked smoothly towards the wet blonde, who was gritting his teeth angrily. 

"Damn Demyx." he swore, shaking the sleeves of his wet leather coat. Axel vanished from his peripheral vision, and he scowled. "Yeah, just leave me dripping." Suddenly though, he felt two long arms wrap around his waist from behind him, and warm breath ghosting over his ear.

"I wouldn't leave you...", even the gentlest of whispers sent puffs of moist air to Roxas's sensitive ear and neck. Roxas struggled against his hold, trying to pry his arms off of him.

"Axel...but..Demyx...and...and he...ah!" Axel took the end of Roxas's ear in his mouth, and in a flash, the blonde was a pile of melted goo in the redhead's arms. Not the ears...

Roxas gasped as Axel's teeth gently nipped and grazed along his skin, his grip still firm around his waist. Roxas felt Axel's hands heat up dramatically, then begin to slide upwards. Heated fingers wound their way into the blonde's waterlogged spikes, gently evaporating away the water.

_Dammit...dammit it all. He knew. He found out **somehow. **He found one of the few things that can make me a quivering pile of flesh. Clever fucker._

"A...Ax...el..." the name came out only as a weak gasp, as Roxas's lips refused to make legible words. He felt a warm tongue slide along the shell of his ear, and a moan escaped his throat. Those hands...those sinfully _delicious _warm hands were now moving down from his newly dried hair to his back, gently massaging. Axel's lips moved from his ear, to the nape of his neck, placing gentle kisses and gently suckling on the soft skin. Roxas faintly began to hear a soft humming, and felt the delicate vibrations of the sound against his skin. It took him a moment, but after a few seconds, he recognized the tune, and whispered the lyrics.

"'Cause our lips...can touch.

And our cheeks...can brush.

Our lips...can touch.

Here..."

Roxas swallowed, and felt Axel's breath up to his ear again. He heard a gentle "Mhm", and turned to look at the redhead, and was met with a pair of vibrantly sage eyes.

"Why...were you humming that?" Roxas questioned. Hellogoodbye wasn't exactly Axel's type of music...Of course, you never knew anything for sure with Axel.

"Because...you were singing it that one time...the time...when I realized I liked you more than a friend." Axel closed his eyes, nuzzling Roxas's shoulder.

"Uwha?" Roxas turned around, bewildered. This shook Axel from his blissfully love-drunk state.

"When...you were helping me cook. It was then." Axel replied, scratching the back of his head, confused Roxas hadn't already known this.

"B...but didn't you realize you liked me on the clock tower?" Roxas stammered, feeling a blush rise to his cheeks.

"Uh, no. I'd liked you looong before that, silly. You've always been to dense to notice."

"I'm not dense!" Roxas cried defiantly.

"Um...yeah...you are."

"You'd never showed it!"

"Psht...lie." Axel rolled his eyes, and crossed his arms.

"Name 3 times you blatantly hit on me!" Roxas challenged, narrowing his eyes.

Axel smirked. "No problem."

* * *

**Soooooooooooo sorry for the wait on this one! Inspiration left me! I'd already been thinking about plotlines for the friggen' SEQUEL. Arghhh. But don't worry. I've started on this one again! Next time, we get to see these flashbacks of Roxas being insufferably dense to Axel's flirtations. XD Omg fun.**

**I'm hoping to get at least 50 reviews. So...yeah...click on the little button that's surprisingly the same color as Zexion's hair. NOW GO! Hahaha.**


	9. Authors Note: Hello out there!

**SO GUESS WHAT?**

**After a two year long hiatus, Protect Me, now renamed Can't Be Close Enough, is being revived!**

**I'm starting by revising ALL of the previous chapters, because the reason I left this was because I didn't like the later chapters. So far I've updated up to chapter four, if you're interested in seeing ALL the new events, and I should be continuing my revisions regularly. A new chapter will be up and written very soon, I'm expecting. And thank you all of you who have been here for all this time! **


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